A Chinese court has sentenced a man to three and a half years in prison for running over a 2-year-old girl and leaving her bleeding in the street , state media reported , a case that stirred debate in China about the level of compassion of its citizens .

The Nanhai District People 's Court in the city of Foshan , Guangdong Province , convicted Hu Jun of manslaughter on Wednesday for the death of the girl , Wang Yue , who was hit and crushed by Hu 's minibus and another vehicle in October , the state-run news agency Xinhua reported .

The girl , nicknamed Yueyue , had wandered into the alley outside her father 's hardware store in Foshan when she was run over . She subsequently died of her injuries after both vehicles drove away from the scene and more than a dozen people passed by without stopping to help .

Yueyue laid motionless in the street in a busy market area for 10 minutes until Chen Xianmei , a 58-year-old woman who collects trash for a living , passed by . She moved Yueyue to safety and called for help .

A video of the events from a security camera was posted online , provoking sympathy , outrage and debate both inside and outside China . Many wondered aloud how so many people could pass by the critically injured child and do nothing .

The case prompted widespread soul-searching in China about the state of the nation 's morals and civic-mindedness , as some people questioned whether years of strong economic growth had made people more interested in personal gain than the welfare of others .

Other people blamed a lack of laws and regulations or a failure of China 's education system to inculcate respect for human life and dignity .

At the trial in Foshan , Hu confessed to running Yueyue over , Xinhua reported , but argued that he should be convicted of traffic offenses rather than manslaughter .

The court said it had given him a lenient sentence because he had given himself up to the police and paid some of Yueyue 's medical fees , according to Xinhua .

But most Chinese people reacting to the court 's decision on social media appeared to believe Hu had not been punished severely enough .

`` Just 3 years and 6 months to compensate for a life ? '' the user ShuiQiangLeWoDeChenTuFeiYang posted on a microblog .

`` He ended Xiao Yueyue 's life before she even had time to start living , '' wrote another user , Feifeng1998 , using a longer form of Yueyue 's nickname .

The Xinhua report did n't mention what had happened to the driver of the other vehicle that ran Yueyue over .

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The girl was run over by two vehicles in October and left in the street

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One of the drivers is convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to prison

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The case provoked outrage and soul-searching in China

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Some microblog users say the sentence is too lenient